Proposed information outreach programme in primary and secondary health care of Punjab,Pakistan

The study reported is part of Dr. Naeem's doctoral research, supervised by Professor Bhatti, with the objective to propose an information outreach programme for health care professionals working in rural areas of the Punjab province, Pakistan. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted involving 517 practitioners from across different health care facilities in the area. The goals of the outreach programme are identified on the basis of the findings regarding practitioners’ current usage and awareness of, as well as attitude and self‐efficacy towards using health information resources. The identification of these goals and their related activities, including logistical, promotional and educational, results in a model of the required inputs and investments to achieve both the short term, intermediate and long term results of the programme. F.J.     

Assessing internet access and use in a medically underserved population: implications for providing enhanced health information services

Background: The relationship between health information seeking, patient engagement and health literacy is not well understood. This is especially true in medically underserved populations, which are often viewed as having limited access to health information. Objective: To improve communication between an urban health centre and the community it serves, a team of library and information science researchers undertook an assessment of patients’ level and methods of access to and use of the Internet. Methods: Data were collected in 53 face‐to‐face anonymous interviews with patients at the centre. Interviews were tape‐recorded for referential accuracy, and data were analysed to identify patterns of access and use. Results: Seventy‐two percentage of study participants reported having access to the Internet through either computers or cell phones. Barriers to Internet access were predominantly lack of equipment or training rather than lack of interest. Only 21% of those with Internet access reported using the Internet to look for health information. Conclusion: The findings suggest that lack of access to the Internet in itself is not the primary barrier to seeking health information in this population and that the digital divide exists not at the level of information access but rather at the level of information use.     

The role of educational information systems for survival in information society and the case of Pakistan

The study reviews the important role of information systems and their impact on educational planning and development. It also attempts to identify gaps in the provision of information needed by educational administrators who are key planners of education enterprise in Pakistan. It intended to determine their views about the development, objectives and needed services of a user centered information system for educational administrators. To achieve these objectives, a literature review, questionnaire survey and interviews were conducted. Thus, the educational administrators (i.e., registrars/deans/chairpersons in universities and principals of schools and colleges) were identified as the target population for the survey and were selected through cluster sampling. The respondents were from the Punjab province and Islamabad Capital Territory. In total, 297 (99%) responses were received and analyzed quantitatively. Interviews of purposively selected educational administrators were also conducted for a more in-depth understanding of respondents’ points of view. This triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods helped in understanding the phenomena under study. Recommendations and conclusions are also drawn in the light of findings of the study. The study is the first one of its type that tried to probe the gaps in the process of accurate/valid information supply to educational administrators and planners. This gap is causing serious challenges for education in Pakistan.     

The information experience and learning needs of couples living with HIV in Malawi

In this feature, guest writer Kondwani Wella presents an overview of his PhD – a study which investigated the information experience of serodiscordant couples with HIV and AIDS in Malawi. In particular, for this article, he considers the information behaviour of people who need HIV‐ and AIDS‐specific information and the role of the librarian in helping to deliver what is needed to support engagement in relevant learning. H.S.     

Developing a generic tool to routinely measure the impact of health libraries

Background

Health libraries contribute to many activities of a health care organisation. Impact assessment needs to capture that range of contributions.

Objectives

To develop and pilot a generic impact questionnaire that: (1) could be used routinely across all English NHS libraries; (2) built on previous impact surveys; and (3) was reliable and robust.

Methods

This collaborative project involved: (1) literature search; (2) analysis of current best practice and baseline survey of use of current tools and requirements; (3) drafting and piloting the questionnaire; and (4) analysis of the results, revision and plans for roll out.

Findings

The framework selected was the International Standard Methods And Procedures For Assessing The Impact Of Libraries (ISO 16439). The baseline survey (n = 136 library managers) showed that existing tools were not used, and impact assessment was variable. The generic questionnaire developed used a Critical Incident Technique. Analysis of the findings (n = 214 health staff and students), plus comparisons with previous impact studies indicated that the questionnaire should capture the impact for all types of health libraries.

Conclusions

The collaborative project successfully piloted a generic impact questionnaire that, subject to further validation, should apply to many types of health library and information services.     

Dissemination of public health information: key tools utilised by the NECOBELAC network in Europe and Latin America

Background: Open Access (OA) to scientific information is an important step forward in communication patterns, yet we still need to reinforce OA principles to promote a cultural change of traditional publishing practices. The advantages of free access to scientific information are even more evident in public health where knowledge is directly associated with human wellbeing. Objectives: An OA ‘consolidation’ initiative in public health is presented to show how the involvement of people and institutions is fundamental to create awareness on OA and promote a cultural change. This initiative is developed within the project NEtwork of COllaboration Between Europe and Latin American Caribbean countries (NECOBELAC), financed by the European Commission. Methods: Three actions are envisaged: Capacity building through a flexible and sustainable training programme on scientific writing and OA publishing; creation of training tools based on semantic web technologies; development of a network of supporting institutions. Results: In 2010–2011, 23 training initiatives were performed involving 856 participants from 15 countries; topic maps on scientific publication and OA were produced; 195 institutions are included in the network. Conclusions: Cultural change in scientific dissemination practices is a long process requiring a flexible approach and strong commitment by all stakeholders.